Mummy, Daddy, Nanny, Anna and Poppy go to WDW!

[PoppyAnna]

:wave2:
Just thought I'd say Hi before we have the off, just a little bit of background for now, then I'll follow up with the trip report upon our return.

Cast: :grouphug:
Me (35) the planner, organiser and DW to
DH (39) Thrill ride lover
DD4 Ariel lover princess:
DD19mo Piglet and Lella (Cinderella) lover :cutie:
My Mum (57)
My Mum and DD's haven't been to WDW before, eldest DD has been to DLRP.

We leave on the VS027 from LGW hopefully at 1045, but we're going to online checkin and bag drop tomorrow as we're not far from Gatwick.

We are staying south i-drive at the Sheraton Vistana Villages. Not stayed there before.

All reports conclude that weather is mighty fine for the near future :cool1:

Sunday it's hit the ground running with the Akershus Princess Lunch at Epcot, DH and I aren't the biggest fans of Epcot so we'll take it easy on the first day.

We have plenty of rest days planned and aren't going commando stylee, it'll still be there next year, right?
Other adr's we have are Crystal Palace for lunch, Rainforest Cafe at AK for lunch, Sci-fi dine-in, Bibbidi Bobbidi for DD4 and Fantasmic dinner at Mama Melroses. Pretty standard stuff!
We will try and book some adr's when we get there, we're pretty flexible people and didn't want to over plan the trip.

Tonight is pamper night - you know what I mean, girls!

"Speak" to you all in three weeks.

Don't work too hard! :lmao:

[arieljasmine]

Thanks for sharing your pre-trip report with us. I hope you have a magical time :wizard: It all sounds wonderful. Will look forward to reading your trip report when you get back.

Laur's princess:

[CHEK]

Have a great time:goodvibes , your DD will love the princess lunch at Epcot.

[mark&sue]

Hope you all have a great time and am looking forward to reading your trip report.


Susan

[Cyrano]

Look forward to hearing about your trip on return :goodvibes

[Beth__WDW23/6/02]

Have a magical time...Look forward to the report when your back :wizard:

[fizz13]

have a fantastic trip:goodvibes

[mumloveseeyore]

Have fun!!

[PoppyAnna]

Trip report teaser.....

We arrived home Sunday, we survived, we had tears (most of joy), tantrums, tiredness and Tonsilitis! Yes, we paid a visit to Orlando's Centra care.

Trip highlights were - The weather, Our accom & the pool! , Princess storybook lunch, Crystal Palace Pooh and Friends Lunch, Sci-fi, Turtle talk with crush, Beauty and The beast, Playhouse Disney, Fantasmic!, *** Philharmagic *** we all loved. Typhoon Lagoon, Kali RR, Tower of Terror, Bibbidi Bobbidi, Ariel's grotto, Small world (little 'un loved it) Wishes, and Photopass!

Trip low lights - Tonsilitis for my DD4, Bubba Gumps, Brush fires & air quality, delay coming home, coming home.

I took 1100 photos and video, when I've sorted it all out, I'll do a proper trip report.
Until then :cloud9:

[Minniespal]

Looking forward to reading more:goodvibes

[CustardTart]

Welcome back, Beckenham babe! :wave: Looking forward to your trip report and photos... :thumbsup2

Yes, we paid a visit to Orlando's Centra care....In our house, a holiday is not a holiday unless someone has to visit the Celebration Hospital... ;)

[arieljasmine]

Sounds like it was a great trip (except for the tonsilitis). Looking forward to hearing more.

Laur's princess:

[CHEK]

Glad you had a good trip :goodvibes , apart from the tonsilitis :sick: . Can't wait to read more about your trip :)

[PoppyAnna]

[QUOTE=CustardTart;18672431]Welcome back, Beckenham babe! :wave: Looking forward to your trip report and photos... :thumbsup2

Isn't the weather rubbish back in Becks!!! Got the heating on full!

[CustardTart]

Isn't the weather rubbish back in Becks!!! Got the heating on full![/QUOTE]

I know! Me too! Particularly pants this week... :sad2:

[jen_uk]

Welcome back! :wave: Sorry to hear your little one was ill. :sad2: Looking forward to your trip reports. :goodvibes

[sandshal]

Can't wait for the first instalment!!!!!!!!!!!! Going back to Vistana Villages in October - loved it first time and can't wait to return. What did you think? and which section were you allocated? - photos to remind me pleeeeeease!!!!!!!

[sharon78]

Welcome home.
Sorry to hear about the hospital trip. Sounds like you had lots of high's to make up for it :goodvibes

[PoppyAnna]

Day one - The flight and the settle in.

A reminder of the cast and crew (I'm the crew, they're the cast).
Me (35) the planner, organiser and DW to
DH (39) Thrill ride lover
DD4 Ariel and Sleeping Beauty lover
DD19mo Piglet and Lella (Cinderella) lover
My Mum (57)
My Mum and DD's haven't been to WDW before, eldest DD has been to DLRP, aged two.

Mum met us at Gatwick last night to twilight check-in so we all get up, get ready, have a quick cuppa, do the last minute checks and sans luggage we're off on holiday.
Gatwick is 45mins away and after being met by the car park rep we're into the terminal building. Change up last bit sterling that the girls were given as spending money from family and browse duty free, but ahhh!!! we're being called, so after mad dash and grab in Lancome it's off to the satelite to board. We got picked out for the full body search which the girls found amusing, I just wish the security guy had been more my type rather than the lady and gent we had that were at least seventy!
We're in row 21. Me, DH and dd19mo on the 3 seats together and dd4 and Mum across the aisle. They fit the infant care chair perfectly for little un and we take off on time. Girls are perfect for flight, little un even manages a couple of hours sleep. Phew.
Immigration, Baggage collection and Dollar desk are fast and perfect, so it's down to pick up car....we are still eagerly waiting our GPS reciever to pick up signal after an hour in terminal building. It doesn't. We start out for resort using map, 15 mins in GPS pipes up, Great!
I take dd4 to check-in with me to stretch her legs, she loves the sheratons reception but manages to resist running around the huge space.
We get to our ground floor 2 bed apt (5-105) and it's great we are all thrilled, a huge space for the girls, a full kitchen, a lounge, 2 beds and 3 bathrooms...
I call reception as there is no crib for dd19mo, within 10 mins a guy turns up with a crib AND a highchair - nice touch Sheraton!
DH stays with girls whilst Mum and I head off to pool bar for beers and some food.
We eat then I try to unpack as fast as poss whilst DH baths girls before bed.
We all crash pretty early after unpacking and dream of day one proper.
Here's the eldest and Mum on the flight.
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb14/poppyanna/orlando2007134.jpg

[CustardTart]

Great so far! It's fab living so near to Gatwick, isn't it? Makes me dead snooty about going anywhere else tho! ;) OMG your Mum looks terrific for 57 - better than me and I'm 43!!! :cool2: Can't wait to hear more... :thumbsup2

[arieljasmine]

What a lovely start. Great to hear that the flight went so smoothly and the villa sounds great. Lovely pic of your mum and daughter too. Looking forward to reading more.

Laur's princess:

[CHEK]

Great start :goodvibes

[KayleeUK]

Looking forward to more :)

[PoppyAnna]

Day two – Epcot.
Hearing horror stories of kids waking at 4am the first few days we’re glad we went to bed early last night and although they’re not too bad and they make 6am, we’re all feeling pretty groggy.
There’s no food in the apartment :scared1: The plan to go to the supermarket last night didn’t happen….Hold on! we bought a quart of milk in the pool bar last night and I bought snacks from home for the girls, let see what we can hash from this…..
So it’s pink milk (I bought nesquik magic straws from home :thumbsup2) and an organic goodie bar each for the girls and coffee and jammie dodgers for the adults – we’ll get something when we get to EPCOT.
We get everybody and everything in the car. I pack a huge change bag with nappies for DD19mo, wipes, sacks, changes of clothes for both as well as a towel, sun lotions and all the medication under the sun. I am prepared for the whole day. I’m driving so they say to me “get the Tom Tom on then Mum, lets get there” I've already set up all the places we are going to visit as shortcuts in it before we came away as I use it on my PDA. We have a signal, we ask it to take us to the kingdom of EPCOT and we’re off. :thumbsup2
Left out of the resort, right at the end of the road then straight on for WDW, this is east peasy, we’re chatting away, the Tom Tom is chatting away and we’ve reached our destination…..or have we? :confused3 This isn’t a very inspiring entrance, I can see the back of spaceship earth but what’s with the electricity plant, high fences and huge barriers and the not so welcoming welcome. I fathom that Tom Tom has taken us to a cast member entrance of the park, I do a u-turn and we decide to not use tom tom for directions on property anymore, just to get us there. This isn’t the exciting entrance to WDW for the girls and my Mum that I had in mind, but hilarious when we look back on it. I wonder how many people this has happened to!! :lmao: We get to EPCOT proper, park real close it’s only 0930 so the place is quiet, so quiet in fact that once I’ve exchange the Virgin voucher for the 14 days ultimate tickets nowhere is open to get refreshments in FW and although early we wander around WS anti clockwise and find a quick stop before England for iced coffee, muffins and smoothies. WS is deserted – everybody is off sensibly riding Soarin and Test Track! It was lovely to walk around the countries when it’s quiet, the girls ran around everywhere but particularly liked Morocco and England, it was deserted. Anna’s got pink crocs at the Outpost, I think it was. There is a child’s playground with a climbing frame, slides and a kidcot stop, the girls loved it, I can’t remember where it was but we spent a while there. It’s time for our lunch adr so we head to the restaurant Akershus for the princess storybook lunch and oh no I have no autograph book for the girls, I’ve totally forgotton – my Mum runs over to the cart outside and none, the shop opposite is closed so we have no autograph book, I feel I’ve let them down because I forgot. :headache: The girls have their official photo taken with Sleeping Beauty, and we’re shown to the first table on the right in the little round room at the rear of the restaurant. We visit the yummy buffet for our starters and before our mains arrive we start getting our visits. Ariel approaches our table and calls out to my youngest (she has red hair) “Don’t ever change your hair, promise?” It was so cute :cutie: We can see Snow White, Belle and Cinderella visiting the tables – we are over the moon that Cinderella is there, as I’d heard that was very rare. Eldest was quite tired and overwhelmed by it all. For our mains, Mum and I had the lamb, DH had the pulled pork. Everybody rated the meal as very good, we loved the way dessert is served where you all help yourself from one large plate of four mixed puds…..the cold rice pudding one was particularly yummy….
When we get outside it’s very hot and Maelstrom is a walk-on before going back to the buggies, it was lovely and cool and totally revives the eldest, she loved it! We head for Future world.
We walk on to The seas with Nemo and then Turtle Talk with Crush, we all love both, even if Nemo did make us dizzy! Crush is hilarious, eldest lost a jibbitz from her crocs whilst sitting down the front and started crying, crush made a fuss of my little “dudette” and calmed her.
As we can’t take buggies into “the land” building and youngest is napping, I go to Soarin to see the wait time, it’s about 3.30 and it’s a 45min wait so we decide to miss it. I'm in no way a lazy person but I was very disappointed that I had to walk the whole way into the building, down the ramps and stairs to find out wait times, it would be nice if they had a wait time board outside the building for the rides – unless I missed it! This would really split your group if you wanted to queue and you had a little one napping (outside in the heat!). Would it hurt so much to let buggies in this building? This is a big shame as the one thing I personally wanted to do with DD4 was Soarin. Test Track wait was the same and as eldest is approaching a melt down we decide to miss that too.
She throws that massive tantrum over what I cannot remember so it’s time for a sit down and a drink so we head for the electric umbrella for refreshments.
As we’re all quite tired we decide to head for home, the girls nap in the car so Mum and I visit the publix and do that Supermarket shop. We make a greek salad with French bread for dinner, bath and bed for everybody early – I’m shattered.
To review the day we probably should have done Soarin, and TT before heading to WS too early but I wouldn’t change some of the laughs we had the morning walking around WS, it was a lovely morning and a nice leisurely start to the trip. Sometimes little children love the simplest things like playgrounds and freedom to run around. In some ways the whole of WS was their playground that morning. :cloud9: Soarin will be there next time.

Note my daughter's finger up her nose - this is typical her.
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb14/poppyanna/orlando2007142.jpg

Note my buggy, I never had to hunt for it after getting off a ride, even if it was moved!
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb14/poppyanna/Orlando2007573.jpg

[CHEK]

Sounds like a great day :goodvibes, love the photo's, your youngest will love you when she's old enough to realise just how many people saw that picture ;)

[CustardTart]

Adorable photos! Especially love the 'Brunhilda' look... :lmao:

[irongirlof12]

great reports. I always hope that the 'eye candy' security guard picks me, but I always get the 'other one'!

Coooool buggy! sound s like a great relaxing start!

[PoppyAnna]

Hello. :wave2:
I forgot to mention, when we were at Gatwick going up the ramp from the car park to the terminal we saw Prof. Steven Hawkins and his entourage. I remember hearing on the radio a few days previously that he had "gone weightless" with the help of NASA in Florida.
Anyway.....back to our day...

[Minniespal]

Lovely piccies:thumbsup2

How exciting seeing Steven Hawkins at the airport.

[PoppyAnna]

Yawn.....
I have to say we're all a bit groggy - the jet lag is kicking in now the adrenalin has subsided. Little one is really miserable. :confused3
So it's a slower start today and we get to MGM mid morning and its the Wildcats High school pep rally going on - I must say it means nothing to us and we pass by. Under the hat is Mary Poppins, Tigger and Pooh and Balou.
We sit down, check out the map and all decide what we would like to do, we have a ressie at Sci-Fi for lunch so that's our only consideration.
We walk straight into Beauty and the Beast, popcorn in hand, we all loved it. Belle has a fabulous voice and eldest loves laughing at Gaston! Managed to video the whole thing in HD - looks fab apart from the odd baseball cap!
DD19mo is in some discomfort with an upset tummy :sick: and crashes out on My Mum's lap on a bench outside Animation Courtyard. This gives me an opportunity to take eldest for a walk on her own, she wants to go to the shop outside Voyage to look at the Princess dresses, and look for characters under the hat.
After little one wakes we go to sci-fi. We're sat right at the front :thumbsup2 Little one is still miserable and our waitress give her a blue light cube to cheer her up. We're all in the mood for burgers and we all thought they were great. We all had milkshakes too - delicious and very thick.
After sci-fi they play for ages outside Muppets, as well as many visits to baby changing with youngest - oh no it's early afternoon and I only have one nappy left! :scared1: She really is suffering so we decide we'll have to take it easy. We're off down streets of America to Backlot tour, one tram breaks down so we're waiting to board for quite a while. Eldest is sitting on the side nearest to the tanker when it goes and she loved it. We head back to Voyage of little mermaid when that finishes we all run across to Playhouse Disney where they are shutting the doors but we make it! The girls love the party sing along atmosphere and seeing Bear et al is great for them. Ticker tape galore! Little one cheers up no end and seems better. Probably too much popcorn earlier.
We go to Celebrity to order the Mickey ears we want to take home as gifts - as we're coming back for fantasmic on another night.
We say farewell to MGM and are a bit disappointed we didn't do much but we're learning fast that's how it seems to be with two pre-schoolers in tow - DH and I wanted to sneak a ride of either RnR or ToT but it didn't happen. Never mind, it's the right time to go for us and get little one home, she's pretty exhusted. We head home and have a salad for tea.
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb14/poppyanna/orlando2007180.jpg
When we got home from our trip, my elderly in-laws thought it was awful we'd let our youngest walk down the middle of a busy road!

[arieljasmine]

Another lovely day. How exciting that you saw Stephen Hawking! The princess breakfast sounds really nice.

Laur's princess:

[Minniespal]

A lovely day:thumbsup2

[GemmaPixie]

enjoying the tr so far.

[tashasmum]

Enjoying the trip report and loved the piccie with the Viking Helmet :thumbsup2

[PoppyAnna]

Very quick trip report for our "rest" day.

We all have a well deserved lie-in and we hit the hotel pool about 11am - ahh bliss. We have lunch at the hotel. A very lovely, playful, family fun day was had. We bought the girls some pool toys and they had a great time playing with the other children at the hotel. Eldest is chuffed to show daddy what her swimming teacher teaches her each week!
After our naps we go to EPCOT for illuminations.
We arrive at EPCOT at 5pm, hungry! We check out the wait times for test track and Soarin which were around 50 mins so we decided to skip them (again). We have yet another lovely walk around World Showcase and we get the girls their light spinners for later (Cinderella and Tinkerbell, of course). We decide on a CS meal at Yakitori house in Japan which we all really enjoyed, all three adults have the Shogun Combination (teriyaki chicken thigh, sukiyaki beef, and steamed rice and some sushi on the side) and the girls have Terikaki chicken and rice, as you can see the girls loved trying out chopsticks and I treated them ;) to some Wasabi paste :scared1: eldest really likes it (even though her eye are watering) - little one whimpered a bit - yes I am a wicked mother!!! I love the stuff!
We go into the shop in Japan which I love walking around and YAY I buy a shoulder bag with a Japanese print on it - I love it and have used it everyday since coming home - DH says it looks like a pair of old knickers - pah men! What does he know!
We position ourselves in the area just down from the bridge across to France and get right at the front. Little one cried all through the fireworks - really didn't like it at all. Particularly the intense "fire" bits. I must say - I didn't find them spectacular, the whole thing just didn't "flow" for me (I know lots of you are rolling your eyes now :rolleyes1 - sorry) Credit where it's due I thought walking around WS in the evening with the torches blazing and the "street" atmosphere was fantastic. I didn't enjoy my first trip to EPCOT in 2001 - but I've come to really love it now.
Tomorrow - the biggie - MK! (Hoping my photopass CD comes the afternoon so I can treat you all to some really good photos).
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb14/poppyanna/orlando2007212.jpg

Will try to re-size my photos before posting next time.

[irongirlof12]

lovely day and the food looked good :)

[ariel75]

enjoying your report so far keep it coming

[wilma-bride]

Really loving your trip report - great pictures of your girls. Did you ever get to go on Soarin' in the end?

[PoppyAnna]

Part One.
After all our lovely rest yesterday we're up early, although the girls are quiet and not their usual excited self :confused3
I'm glad as the planner, I left the MK last out of the "big four" as we've adjusted to our jet lag and this is the big park for the little girls.
We get to the TTC around 0830 and take the monorail which was quite empty, the girls don't eye the castle as a lovely lady was playing with them and peekaboo with the little'un who was a little grumpy (perhaps she's not as rested as I thought!) I hold all the tickets so I hand them out and mine's not working :confused3 so we have to wait for a replacment.
The girls and my Mum are in awe as we walk down Main St and the girls love the window displays more than the view of the castle, I think!
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb14/poppyanna/Orlando2007641a.jpg
We stop for our photopass photo and the head to Fantasyland......
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb14/poppyanna/image33a.jpg

[irongirlof12]

LOVE the photo!

[PoppyAnna]

Magic Kingdom - Part Two.
The girls love the Cinderella Fountain in Fantasyland and their eyes pop out of their head when they see Dumbo.
We park the buggies and walk onto Philharmagic in no time. All I can say is WOW! we all love Philharmagic, the sights, the songs and the smells - when Donald's dinner is served - WOW! We don't stop laughing. A trip highlight for all of us :cloud9: We queue for ten mins for Dumbo and fun is had by all.
We head for Mrs Potts for ice creams and chocolate sundaes which were scrummy yummy (can't believe I'm eating this at 1030 am!) and the girls are excited as Pooh comes out from the side of the shop and walks right past our table as he's heading for Pooh's playful spot. Little one is tired, it's a very hot day, I take her for a walk in her buggy as Mum, DH and dd4 queue for The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. I head for tinkerbells treasures for retail therapy and little one gets a cute dress! We meet again, dd19mo is asleep and dd4 is queing to see tigger. They loved Pooh ride and video'd the whole thing for me :lmao:
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb14/poppyanna/orlando2007217a.jpg
I can't believe it's not yet midday and we've seen so much. DD4 has a play in Pooh's playful spot and we walk onto tea cups ans then decide to head for our adr at Crystal Palace 1pm.
The food is delicious and the character interaction is very good, although I was very disappointed with Piglet, he/she was having an off day and didn't interact with any of the children very much. To this day when my eldest looks at the photos she says that Piglet was very shy!
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb14/poppyanna/orlando2007227a.jpg
Part three later on..........

[Minniespal]

Lovely piccies:goodvibes

[irongirlof12]

lovely day, and great photo's ,:cool1:

[sandshal]

Love your reports - keep them coming!

Can't wait to get back to the VV so I look forward to your reports the most.

Sharon

[PoppyAnna]

Thank you for all your lovely positive comments, I've enjoyed doing this trip report much more than I thought I would - bringing back all the memories.
I've given over quite a bit of time to our first day at the Magic Kingdom as it turned into a 12 hour stay and I know you DISers love the photos of MK!
Stay tuned!

[PoppyAnna]

Love your reports - keep them coming!

Can't wait to get back to the VV so I look forward to your reports the most.

Sharon

Thanks Sharon, I'll try and slip in a few photos of the VV in the future - just for you :thumbsup2

[PoppyAnna]

Magic Kingdom - Part three.

http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb14/poppyanna/Orlando2007645a.jpg
After lunch at Crystal Palace it's time to get in position for the Parade, CM's play games with the children down Main st to keep them amused and Anna plays hula hoops and I join in to sing songs with them. The parade is fabulous, the music is new to us but we do like it, I managed to video the whole thing, so I don't have many stills, my Mum has those. The girls love the "baddies" float with Ursula on the back.

http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb14/poppyanna/Orlando2007680a.jpg

We decide to head back to Fantasyland and ride Smallworld twice (10min walk ons) and queue for Peter Pan - WOW this queue is hot in this confined space and it's the only queue where we found WDW under estimated the standby time, we queued for about 30 mins in the end. My Mum stood this one out and went for a drink in Pinocchio's Village Haus. The girls love the ride especially when you look down on the pirate ship, that was their favourite bit. After meeting Nanny and having a refreshment break ourselves at Pinocchios we head for Ariel's grotto, I queue whilst the girls play in the water fountains, this was a highlight of the day for them. The CM at the grotto gave them "My 1st trip" badge's when they join me in the queue. They both love Ariel and dd19mo gave her a big hug in the photos.
By now it's about 1730 and we decide to stay the whole day and do fireworks - wow what a day, this wasn't part of the plan but we are all still quite lively so we head to Mickey's Toontown Fair, they loved Minnie and Mickey's house and we decide if we can get to see the Mouse in the flesh......

[CHEK]

Great report, it all just so magical isn't it. I love MK it's my fave :love:

[wilma-bride]

Great report - love your photos.

[PoppyAnna]

Magic Kingdom - Part Four.

We enter the Judge's tent to meet Mickey and nobody else is in line, the CM asks us to wait and in no time he asks us to follow him...we're straight in to see Mickey, we can't believe and are so taken by surprise I dont have my camera ready :eek: luckily the photopass guy captures the lot! My little un' is really taken with him and just keeps running up to him shouting "Micheeee"
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb14/poppyanna/image50a.jpg
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb14/poppyanna/image46a.jpg

The Mickey cuddles kept coming as there was still nobody else waiting in line. It was like Mickey had come out, just for my girls..........:cloud9:

Our tummy's are rumbling and we need to find a CS restaurant for a meal and a restorative break before the fireworks, I'd heard many good things about Cosmic Ray's on the DIS, so we head for it.....

[PoppyAnna]

Magic Kingdom - Part Five.

Cosmic Ray's proved to be a bit of a pain with two young children in buggies and three adults all having to go to different counters for different things, or did we take that too literally - did we really have to do it? Once I had visited the toppings bar my cheeseburger was tasty, but nothing special, it didn't taste that fresh considering the restaurant was busy.
Anyway, the girls are getting quite tired now so we decide to watch the fireworks down Main St in the road outside the sweetshop so we could leave sharpish.
I know it's not the best place, but we'll be back another night ;)
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb14/poppyanna/orlando2007264a.jpg
Wishes is fantastic, I prefer it soooo much more to Illuminations at EPCOT, I suppose it's more "magical" and that appeals to me and my family. I watch it all sideways on as dd19mo is over my shoulder, and although she cried and screamed all through Illuminations she loves Wishes and says "Wow" about a thousand times!
After the fireworks we head back to the TTC by ferry, the park isn't very busy and we get on the first one and we're away very quick.
I always knew Fantasyland would be a whole day for us on our first visit and I feel like we covered so much, I've never spent 12 hours in a theme park before but it was worth it. Park commando types probably think we didn't do that much but when you factor in two pre-schoolers, toilet stops, nappy changes, snack stops, the odd tantrum and meals - I think we did really well and we all really enjoyed the day....:cheer2:
Tomorrow - Animal Kingdom.

[Minniespal]

An excellent day in my favourite park:goodvibes I love spending 12 hours in the MK:woohoo:

[CHEK]

Totally agree with you regarding wishes, we love it!, I bought the CD for my DH whilst we were there, and we listen to it every day on the way to school and on the way home from school :love:

[PoppyAnna]

Before I start my trip report, may I just say I was in the Disney store in Bromley this morning and the Small World music was being played, I had to stop and "take a moment".....silly billy..

Animal Kingdom.
We're breaking all the rules this morning, due to the unplanned late night at the MK we are a bit slow getting going and we get to AK at around 1100. It's hot.......very hot as AK always is. We have a Rainforest Cafe adr for lunch at 1pm so we head for Bug's Life first. The girls are a bit scared and I do enjoy it but in a funny way, I'm not sure I actually like it though - does that make sense?
Nanny and little one sit it out whilst Myself, DH and DD4 ride Kali, we all love it and forgot to take my Mum's waterproof camera so I have no shots - never mind! Water rides are a real favourite with my family and this is no exception - we love it and we only waited 15mins.
After drinking frozen lemonade (yum) walking around camp Minnie Mickey we make mental notes on the Lion King show times then we head for Rainforest Cafe, we went to the one in DLRP when DD4 was 2 and she was a bit scared by it - but not this time, and nothing scares DD19mo she was fresh from a nap so she found it a hoot! I had the Monsoon grill which was delicious and so big DH and Mum had a Rib and Shrimp combo which was lovely too.
After lunch we walk onto Kilimanjaro Safaris, doesn't need any explanation, we all love it, it's a favourite thing today.
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb14/poppyanna/Orlando2007735a.jpg
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb14/poppyanna/Orlando2007722a.jpg
We stop at every water station possible and walking around is so hot, the girls love getting soaked under all the sprays.....
We check the show times and head for the last showing of the Nemo show.
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb14/poppyanna/orlando2007286a.jpg
My Mum and I enjoyed it, DH (really) didn't, and I think the girls were confused by it. It is a unique format and sometimes watching it you are distrated by the actors and then vice versa. In hindsight we wished we'd have seen the Lion King show instead, but the timings weren't right.
We are all getting tired and the park is so hot, we head for Dinoland USA, this is a strange area of the park, for me it doesn't really fit in. We ride tricera top spin with the girls and head home for a light meal at the apartment and an early night!
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb14/poppyanna/Orlando2007746a.jpg

[GemmaPixie]

Thanks for another installment

[irongirlof12]

what a great day, I love the photo's - some real animal close ups there.

[arieljasmine]

Just caught up with your trip reports, really enjoying them. Love the pic of your girls with my favourite Winnie the Pooh - your littlest girl looks totally in awe :cloud9:

I always find AK too hot - and I totally understand what you mean about Bug's Life, me and DH felt like that too.

Laur's princess:

[Tinkerbellgal]

Can't wait to here more! Keep it coming = ]

[PoppyAnna]

Firstly, thank you for all your feedback. I think from the outside looking in our family holiday seems quite boring but for us it was (mostly) a lovely memory of two weeks in the worlds biggest playground with our girls.

We have a lie-in and go to Mall at Millenia.
It's quite an upmarket "mall", for anybody that lives in the southeast it's quite like Bluewater. I bought some clothes in A&F, Gap, Gymboree and a few other shops I can't remember! We have lunch at the foodcourt (chinese) and head off. As there is quite a bit of the afternoon left we go to Premium Outlets which is just across the street from our hotel, after there we hit the Publix to buy some more supplies and head off back to the apartment and time for some swimming!
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb14/poppyanna/orlando2007515a.jpg
After our meal back at the Vistana we phone my FIL as it's his birthday, the girls sing Happy Birthday down the phone.
The girls are tired and go straight to bed, after which the adults go straight to beers!
Tomorrow DTD for Bibbidi Bobiddi and MGM for Fantasmic!

[arieljasmine]

A lovely shopping and relaxing day. Looking forward to hearing about the boutiquing - hope you will share pics with us!

Laur's princess:

[PoppyAnna]

All I remember about DTD from our visit to WDW in 2001 was the Rainforest cafe as it was my first experience of one. When planning the holiday itin I took the advice to stay away from theme parks and water parks on Saturday and Sunday and it seemed a good opportunity to book the Bibbidi Bobbidi for my DD4. We did promise both girls a special Princess dress as a holiday gift so we hit World of Disney and start the painful search for the perfect dress!
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb14/poppyanna/orlando2007294a.jpg
After our souvenier shopping we have time for lunch before the BBB, we have nothing booked and don't fancy the rainforest cafe again so we have fish and chips in Cookes of Dublin. I have to say it was quite nice, hot and fresh - we just couldn't believe we were eating F&C in Orlando! I have glossed over a serious amount of time spent dealing with my eldests tantrums today, including a trip back to the car for a calming down session with the aircon on! - don't know what is the matter with her, she's usually like this when she's about to get ill or maybe she nervous/worried about the BBB as she doesn't know what to expect.
It's time for the BBB.
This is what she looked like before she went in.......
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb14/poppyanna/orlando2007297a.jpg

To be continued.............

[arieljasmine]

Ooo, I am in suspense now! Your daughter looks lovely in her dress already! I still have heat meltdowns sometimes, and I am definitely old enough to know better!

Laur's princess:

[irongirlof12]

I can't wait...:hourglass :hyper: your dd looked sweet before she went in !

I have my 2 DD's booked in for our trip.:thumbsup2

[GemmaPixie]

NOOOOOOOOOO.........MORE MORE MORE!! I wanna see the princess daughter! love the TR

[PoppyAnna]

http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb14/poppyanna/orlando2007298a.jpg
I gave my DD's name to the CM at the BBB desk, she was lovely and gave me a buzzer and a flyer "To princess Anna......" she asked that my DD choose which hairstyle she wants before they are ready for her.
There is a choice of three, the classic princess "up doo", the US child beauty queen style (with matching extensions) and the colourful pop princess style with coloured extensions. She chose number three :rolleyes: I suddenly thinking, what have I done! Two CM's "work" on each "princess" mu daughter also got a choice of colour of make-up and nails - they asked if we wanted to take the false nails with us as they would fall off as it was early afternoon. Oh yes I said - I was really thinking that she's never going to see those purple false nails again! :rolleyes1
Look how miserable she looks!
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb14/poppyanna/orlando2007308a.jpg
The other girls (mainly from the US) being "done" are loving every minute of it, asking for more glitter and more spray and even complaining that the CM's weren't putting on enough make-up. I'm sitting on the central sofa watching thinking please let this be over......I just didn't like it, I don't think my daughter was enjoying it and I felt a bit sorry for her being pulled, pushed and teased.
This is the final result.
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb14/poppyanna/image71a.jpg
Little one was sleeping outside in her buggy with my Mum, on the way out of World of Disney my DD4 turned a few heads and an older lady from the UK commented on how pretty she looked, I answered that I disagreed, it made her look too old and took away my baby - so there it is, thats why I didn't like it :eek: I think it's a super thing for an older girl but it just wasn't for us. When my DD4 looks at the photos now she says she enjoyed looking different but didn't like it when it was being done. I hear they are soon to open another branch in the castle (if they haven't done so already) it certainly was popular!
Look what happened five minutes later
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb14/poppyanna/orlando2007312a-1.jpg
......gave the rest of us an excuse for ice creams from Ghirardelli's....:cloud9:
Next: MGM for ToT and Fantasmic!

[PoppyAnna]

We hot foot it over to MGM, it's about 4pm when we arrive and we have a Fantasmic! dinner adr at MM for 5.40. The girls meet Pocahontas and Snow White and the SNow queen under the hat - they chicken out of having their photo taken with the Snow Queen - DD19mo is shouting "baddie.....baddie" I think the CM found it hard to keep her best mean face on! :lmao:
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb14/poppyanna/Orlando2007839a.jpg
I admit, DH and I want to go on ToT and we debate whether or not to take DD4 on. We decide to go for it, it's a walk on and as we enter the building DH almost chickens out. Once we leave the "library" we're both starting to get really nervous, I tell DH that I will take the elevator down with her but she really wants to go on. DH found it scarier than he remembered and our ride photo is her sitting between us with us holding her so tight and staring at her :scared1: She said she didn't like it and she was scared but she didn't cry. DH regrets it to this day. She now remembers it and giggles :confused3
We head for Mama Melrose's. I have the Steak which was lovely, DH had a chicken pasta dish which he didn't like and my Mum had the salmon which was over cooked and dry - they had main course envy! Needless to say, I liked Mama's, they didn't.
We took our seats for fantasmic and WOW!!! I have it all on video so don't have any stills, I can understand that you either love it or hate it. I loved it, with one exception - I didn't like the water projections. I'm glad we did it - it got the thumbs up from all my family.
We go and collect the mickey ears from Celebrity which I ordered a few days previously, it's late and after a spot of shopping we head back to the Vistana.
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb14/poppyanna/image75a.jpg

[natalielongstaff]

your dd does look lovely :) i understand how you feel about the whole make-up thing though.

[jns]

Thanks for sharing your holiday with us
love alll the photos

[sandshal]

Another couple of great days - thanks for posting the picture of the Vistana - looks even better than I remember! 94 days to go and counting .....

[florida sun]

Lovely reports and pictures, cant wait to read more:thumbsup2

[PoppyAnna]

I think the pace of life WDW style is starting to catch up with the girls, they seem over stimulated and despite their physical tiredness last night was a terrrible night for sleep, catching naps here and there in buggies and shorter nights isn't how it is at home so although I consider them quite active children they are finding it a struggle. Perhaps Fantasmic was a too much for their little brains last night :scared1: So, as we've been up most of the night it's a mega lie-in :goodvibes no matter how much you plan your itinerary you can't account for nights like that one and I could never wake them to go out to fulfill my holiday wishes. After a late breakfast we head out to the Premium outlets as Mum wants a few things she saw the other day, I want to get some gifts and shoes that I saw and DH wants to do Gap. After shopping we go for a drive to find a restaurant for lunch we opt for Landrys seaford on Little Lake Bryan. We all really enjoyed it, they serve yummy bread (I love bread although it doesn't love me) and a salad family style then I had a shrimp combo, the girls had chicken and shrimp. DH had a shrimp platter. The shrimp tasted tender and fresh compared to what we'd had at the rainforest cafe, adnwe thought that was nice!
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb14/poppyanna/orlando2007366a.jpg
We decided to head back to the Vistana for some afternoon pool time but,
oh no
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb14/poppyanna/Orlando2007864a.jpg
THUNDERSTORM!
So that's the only water we all see today, we even got the girls in their cossies, it crept up on us that quick. They were disappointed they missed their swim.
I had taken quite a a few art supplies with me for the flights so we got all that out and they actually had a great time just doing their own thing for a few hours. I think they needed some down time to themselves.
After putting the girls to bed Mum stayed with them and DH and I went to DTD, we had a walk around the market place, a drink in Raglan Road and then we went to Disney Quest - never been in there before, we did the virtual reality game which made me feel sick, we did the riverboat thing which made me feel sick and then we went to the cheesecake factory which made me feel sick!!!! Only kidding - although I didn't think much of their iced frappachino the banofee pie was to die for! We checked the news back home and I posted on the DIS. Sad to say that since becoming parents we're not the social animals we were and we just wanted to get back!
Tomorrow - Typhoon Lagoon.

[PoppyAnna]

http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb14/poppyanna/Orlando2007943a.jpg
A better faster start today and we get to TL early. Hmmmm ours is only about the twentieth car in the car park....when we go through the gates people are coming out!
DH and I need a beach towel as I didn't pack any as we needed new ones, we've bought princess and tink ones for the girls. I bought a surf board shaped pink and white TL one and DH gets Mickey on a surfboard!
We make "base camp" a few sunbeds on the sand near the little slides in wave pool. I know why it's quiet - it's cold! When the water hits you it's freezing.....although it's warm in the sun. We take the girls to Ketchkiddie creek and the love it, little one still seems tired and crashed out on a sunbed!
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb14/poppyanna/Orlando2007883a.jpg
Mum stays with her and ME, DH and DD4 head for some rides after we manage to get her out of the wave pool. We go on the family raft so many times I lost count as there was nobody there - I would love to see the attendence for that day, I'd be surprised if it was over 400 - not kidding.
DH goes to see how Mum and little un is and DD4 and I go on the lazy river on a double ring, and then on two singles, and then on a double - and so on, she couldn't make up her mind which she loved the most!
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb14/poppyanna/image92a.jpg
We're all back together and we have a CS lunch which wasn't memorable.
We head back out as group and the girls love TL, we all went on the family raft again a number of times and I said to DH to do the slides as I can't be he wasn't bothered (he's become a bit of a wuss since having the girls!) We took turns with the little one while the others went on the single tubes. This really was a special day for us, and although chilly to start with it warmed up and I actually got a bit burned - silly billy!!
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb14/poppyanna/Orlando2007909a.jpg
We play beach ball games before heading home.
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb14/poppyanna/Orlando2007922a.jpg
DH's favourite day of the holiday.
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb14/poppyanna/Orlando2007933a.jpg
Tomorrow - Universal Studios

[jns]

its lovely been in the water parks when it is quite
we are big water park fans too
one year we hit the waterparks most mornings then the park in the evening
slept for a month when we got home

[Nubbedy]

Just catching up with your trip reports and really enjoying reading them. Looking forward to more.

Sara. :)

[irongirlof12]

your dd's dress from BBB looked beautiful, thanks for sharing photo's, shame you didn't enjoy it.princess:

nice to have a few relaxing days as well. I plan for England, but sometimes kids don't follow suit do they?:rotfl:

[arieljasmine]

A lovely few days, thanks for sharing with us. I love the picture in the lazy river - you both look so happy. Sorry to hear that your daughter didn't enjoy BBB.

Laur's princess:

[PoppyAnna]

Okay, I know this is DISboards but I can't skip days out of my trippie, so here goes.

As I'm self nominated chief organiser I go and exchange the virgin vouchers for our tickets.
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb14/poppyanna/orlando2007373a.jpg
As you can see it's a lovely blue sky day as most have been, but I think this is the hotest of the holiday so far.
After going through the gates I forgot how small Universal was and how it really doesn't have the Disney WOW factor. Shrek 4d is top of the list and as it's right there we get in line, we queue for 20 mins - oh my goodness it's faberoonie, my DD4 is a massive Shrek fan and it's great for adults too as you can't help but love the humour. Upon exit I look across the street to see Shrek going in for a break so I keep the character meet and greet to myself until later. We carry on up Plaza of the stars and head for Twister, I'm not bothered about doing it but the wait time is 10 mins so we go for it, when we finally get to it (30mins) I remember how awful it is - My Mum is so disappointed, all she has had is Disney so far and already US isn't coming close.
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb14/poppyanna/Orlando2007981a.jpg
We have a stroll around past Mummy, Beetlejuice and Earthquake etc and up to Amity Ave - this has a really tacky feel to it, US seemed desperate (or more obvious) to generate extra income with these "fairground" attractions. We walk past MIB, the park is very quiet and we feel we can afford to stroll around orientating ourselves before pick and choosing our attractions.
We have lunch in World Expo, and then head for the kids zone. The girls love Fievels playground, Woody's coaster and Curious George goes to town, they get soaked again and again. After a change of clothes DD19mo nods off and Me, DH and DD4 go on MIB, then My Mum DH and DD4 walk onto Jaws while I look after little un.
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb14/poppyanna/Orlando20071007a.jpg
Mum swaps with Me looking after DD19mo and the rest of us go to Earthquake. Again US underestimate their wait times, everytime we get into the "holding room" of an attraction the doors are left open to get the maximum capacity to "run" the ride.
After ice-creams at Schwabbs we decide to call it a day, I ask DH is he wants to do Terminator or Mummy but he declines.
We see Shrek and Dora on out way out, great as DD4 loves Shrek and DD19mo loves Dora. DD19mo was really freaked out by Donkey - made her cry!ahhhh.
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb14/poppyanna/Orlando20071000a.jpg
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb14/poppyanna/Orlando2007988a.jpg
No one else was waiting for Dora so she spent ages playing peek-a-boo with my two.
We decide to do Jimmy Neutron on the way out and boy are we glad we did - what a laugh, DH sat with little un in the "static" seats but we had a blast being thrown around. DD4 has never seen Jimmy but loved it anyway.
In summing up we had a nice day at US but the poor estimation of wait times really disappointed me especially with two little ones to ammuse (with no cheery CM's in sight), I thought US's merchandise was tacky and cheap, I thought it was a cheek to still have the Back to the Future Shop even though the ride was gone. If I go back to Orlando in the next few years I won't rush to US - DH can go on his own!
PS - We walk in Bubba Gumps without ressies - the atmosphere couldn't be beat but the food was not a big hit - good fun though!

[jen_uk]

I was really disappointed with US as well, the wait times were way out when we went and we ending up queuing for far longer than we would of liked for some of the attractions. :upsidedow

[irongirlof12]

your photos are great. :thumbsup2

[arieljasmine]

Pleased that you made it on Jimmy Neutron, that is my favourite ride in US and a lot of fun. I love the pic of your girls with Dora, so cute.

Laur's princess:

[Minniespal]

Excellent:thumbsup2

[PoppyAnna]

Girls are up all night again DD4 who usually shares twin room with Mum is in with us and has a fever. The girls catch up on their sleep all morning. I do some laundry. My Mum tells us to take DD19mo out for a drive to give DD4 a chance to sleep it off in peace. We go to Florida Mall, we don't have anything to get but DH is still contemplating buying a laptop so we go for a browse. DD loves the M&M shop which we think is hilarious. After a few bargain purchases in the Disney store (two lovely swimming cossies for $12 much nicer than in the parks). I'm worried about DD4 so I'm itching to get back. I'm a great believer in healthy food being important for healing and as everybody's diet hasn't been as good as it should I make a stop at the Publix to get some food for a healthy meal in tonight :idea:
DD4's temperature is becoming hard to manage but she goes to bed happily and not too hot. :sick:
2130 Thunderstorm - DH and I go to bed early too.

[arieljasmine]

So sorry to hear about your daughter being poorly, I hope she is able to shake it off quickly.

Laur's princess:

[PoppyAnna]

DD4 still has a fever that is difficult to control despite me giving her both paracetamol and iburofen medicines.
After consulting the in room handbook we decide to take her to the Florida Centra Clinic near the entreance to DTD, it's close by so we all go and arrive there at 9am. DD4 is examined and Doc diagnoses Tonsilitis. She is given an anti-biotic and a cough medicine. They are concerned as we fly on Saturday, so she is given a powerful antibiotic that only required one 5ml dose for three days, the Dr said by tomorrow we will see a massive improvement.
After getting the presciption filled next door we administer the anti-biotics in the back of the car straight away.
Back to the Vistana we're all hungry as we skipped breakie so we go to the pool restaurant for lunch.
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb14/poppyanna/Orlando20071028a.jpg
Back to the apartment for a rest, after DD4 wakes up she seems 100% better.
Tonight is the last night we have a chance to see Spectromagic and the concensus of opinion is she'll survive if we take both buggies.
Off to the Magic Kingdom we go..................
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb14/poppyanna/image104a.jpg
We arrive at about 4.30 and circuit the park on the train and after going around the circuit we get off at Frontierland. Splash Mountain has a 20 minute wait so Me, DH and DD4 get in line, DH and I agree to this as she seems so much better. Mum takes DD19mo to Tom Sawyer island.
In the end it was less than 20 mins :thumbsup2 we all squish in one seat and DD4 loves it. :cloud9: I'm happy we decided to come out tonight.
It's still pretty hot and we stroll around to Adventureland and get ice lollies (think this will help her throat too) and queue to see the Genie, we get to the front and both girls chicken out and cry! How embarassing! Despite Genie's best effort they weren't having it!
We walk onto Aladdin's Carpets.
DD4 says she is hungry again! Yippee this is great, I hate it when my children go off their food. We eat at the noodle station which was okay, my dish was hot and welcome, I was quite hungry too. The girls ate their mac and cheese with gusto (we've managed to avoid kids meals most of the holiday but they both said they wanted it this time).
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb14/poppyanna/orlando2007405a.jpg
We go on Liberty Square riverboat to kill some time before getting in place for Spectromagic.
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb14/poppyanna/orlando2007400a.jpg
We watched from in front of the castle near the bridge to Tomorrowland, I recorded Spectro on video so don't have any stills.
I wasn't as keen on it as I thought I would be. Didn't like the lit up face clown types although I thought most of the "characters" were good.
As Wishes was starting straight after and we wanted to watch it one night from under the Castle we decided to stay DD4 was loving it and was really returning to her old self (she spent most of the evening inthe buggy or on her Dad's shoulders). I went to the Plaza ice cream parlour for refreshments - what a mistake, although my sundae was lovely by the time I got back my Mum and DH were having a joke saying perhaps I was Tinkerbell tonight and it was going to be a surprise for them! :lmao:
We all love Wishes and it blew our socks off from under the castle, so much better than down Main Street. :cheer2:
I was surprised how many people left the park after Spectro and didn't stay fo Wishes.:confused3
http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb14/poppyanna/image109a.jpg
After such a bad start to the day we had a great evening! :cloud9:
Next day - Seaworld.

[irongirlof12]

so pleased that DD picked up so quickly and you ended up having a great evening:)

[jns]

isn't it wonderful how quicky kids get better again
where under the castle did you watch wishes from

great reports
never been to US yet still got the tickets that I bought for last year
might make it this time

[arieljasmine]

So pleased that your daughter was feeling better so quickly. I love Spectro - but I am scared of the clown people! I love ice cream from that shop but it is always soooooo busy!

Laur's princess:

[PoppyAnna]

isn't it wonderful how quicky kids get better again
where under the castle did you watch wishes from

great reports
never been to US yet still got the tickets that I bought for last year
might make it this time

Near Walt.
We watched it earlier in the holiday from down Main St. outside the sweet shop, we needed to beat a hasty retreat that night as we'd been in the MK 12hours!
The nearer the castle the better in my opinion.

[Nubbedy]

I love Spectro - it was the first thing we saw when we went to MK straight off the plane last year - but those clown people are freaky.

Glad your DD got better.

Sara. :)

[natalielongstaff]

great pictures :)

[DisneyJo]

Loving your TR your DD's are such cuties :goodvibes

[T16GEM]

Great Trip report! Your pictures are fantastic too!
I am such a sap as I keep getting all teary reading about your little ones enjoying it so much.
I wanted to ready you trip report as my two will be 2 and 1 when we go so I was interested to see how you dealt with them in the parks etc.

Can't wait to read more!

[PoppyAnna]

Great Trip report! Your pictures are fantastic too!
I am such a sap as I keep getting all teary reading about your little ones enjoying it so much.
I wanted to ready you trip report as my two will be 2 and 1 when we go so I was interested to see how you dealt with them in the parks etc.

Can't wait to read more!

I am going to post more soon - we have been crazy mad decorators lately and I haven't had much free time:sad1: but it's all over now so I should be back soon :thumbsup2

You'll be okay going with your 1 & 2 year old, if you have any questions about what we did (right or wrong) just PM me....
All the best!